Students who fail to meet Satisfactory Academic Progress (SAP) requirements after an Academic/Financial Aid Warning period are permitted to appeal the termination of their federal financial aid eligibility and termination from the College if the student can demonstrate in their written appeal that mitigating circumstances were the contributing factors to the student’s failure to achieve SAP. Mitigating circumstances would include the death of a relative of the student, injury, disability, or illness of the student, or other special circumstances. A SAP appeal must be filed within 30 days of receiving notice of the failure to achieve SAP after an Academic/Financial Aid Warning period. All appeals must be submitted in writing to the Director of Financial Aid. The student’s letter of appeal must explain and document the mitigating circumstance(s) which caused the student not to achieve SAP after the Academic/Financial Aid Warning Period and what circumstances have changed that will allow the student to achieve SAP at the next evaluation period. A decision will be reached upon examination by a panel consisting of the College President, Director of Financial Aid, and Dean of Nursing or their designees.
This panel may grant one additional term (quarter) as a Financial Aid Probationary period, approve an “Academic Improvement Plan” which may require the student to fulfill specific terms and conditions, or deny the appeal. By approving an additional term (quarter) as a Financial Aid Probation Period, the panel determined that the student should be able to meet the College’s SAP standards by the end of that term (quarter). The panel, in conjunction with the student, may also develop and approve an individual Academic Improvement Plan if it is determined that the student’s circumstances warrant. The Academic Improvement Plan will measure incremental improvement, and if the student does not meet the incremental improvement requirements, the student would no longer be eligible for federal financial aid assistance and would be terminated from the College. The Academic Improvement Plan must also identify that the student is able to meet SAP standards by a specific point in time.
If the appeal is approved, the student will be eligible for federal student assistance (Grants, Loans, & FWS) during a Financial Aid Probationary term (quarter) or the period of the Academic Improvement Plan. If a student submits a timely and complete written appeal to the Director of Financial Aid, the College may permit the student to continue their enrollment while the appeal is pending; however, the student would be responsible for the full payment of their tuition and fees if the appeal is not successful. The SAP appeal decision of this panel is final, and the decision will be provided to the student in writing within 30 days of the appeal filing.
If a student successfully appeals their loss of federal financial aid eligibility, the student’s financial aid eligibility will be re-established. In most cases, the student will be placed on a SAP Financial Aid Probationary status for one additional term (quarter) or establish a time frame for meeting the minimum requirements under an Academic Improvement Plan.